U.S. patent number 11,144,033 [Application Number 16/029,250] was granted by the patent office on 2021-10-12 for system and method for industrial plant design collaboration.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Electric Company. The grantee listed for this patent is General Electric Company. Invention is credited to Cherine Foutch, Daniel Kessler, William Masters, Michael Poole, Yanyan Wu.
United States Patent |
11,144,033 |
Wu , et al. |
October 12, 2021 |
System and method for industrial plant design collaboration
Abstract
A system includes a collaborative design system that includes a
processor configured to display an industrial plant layout on a
display. The processor is also configured to overlay the industrial
plant layout onto a geographic image. Further, the processor is
configured to receive one or more inputs from a plurality of remote
users. In addition, the processor is configured to manipulate the
layout with respect to the geographic image based on the one or
more inputs. Moreover, the processor is configured to create an
industrial plant design based on the industrial plant layout and
the geographic image.
Inventors: |
Wu; Yanyan (Houston, TX),
Poole; Michael (Houston, TX), Foutch; Cherine
(Alpharetta, GA), Kessler; Daniel (Houston, TX), Masters;
William (Houston, TX) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
General Electric Company |
Schenectady |
NY |
US |
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Assignee: |
General Electric Company
(Schenectady, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005860343 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/029,250 |
Filed: |
July 6, 2018 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20190011901 A1 |
Jan 10, 2019 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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62529868 |
Jul 7, 2017 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G05B
19/4097 (20130101); G05B 19/4063 (20130101); G05B
2219/31449 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G05B
19/4097 (20060101); G05B 19/4063 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;703/1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Germani et al. ("Development of a collaborative product development
tool for plants design", ICED, 2005, pp. 1-12) (Year: 2005). cited
by examiner .
Filho et al. (An Automated Platform for Immersive and Collaborative
Visualization of Industrial Models, 2002, IEEE, pp. 258-264) (Year:
2002). cited by examiner .
Prasad et al. (A Typical Manufacturing Plant Layout Design Using
CRAFT Algorithm, Procedia Engineering 97 (2014 ) 1808-1814) (Year:
2014). cited by examiner .
Hou et al. ("Combining Photogrammetry and Augmented Reality Towards
an Integrated Facility Management System for the Oil Industry",
IEEE, 2014, pp. 204-220) (Year: 2014). cited by examiner.
|
Primary Examiner: Khan; Iftekhar A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fletcher Yoder P.C.
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/529,868, entitled "SYSTEM AND
METHOD FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANT DESIGN COLLABORATION," filed Jul. 7,
2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for
all purposes.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A system, comprising: a collaborative design system comprising a
processor, the processor configured to: display an industrial plant
layout on a display; overlay the industrial plant layout onto a
geographic image; receive one or more inputs from a plurality of
remote users, wherein the one or more inputs comprise graphical
user interface (GUI) inputs; manipulate the industrial plant layout
with respect to the geographic image based on the one or more
inputs; show the manipulation of the industrial plant layout to the
plurality of remote users as a user of the plurality of remote
users manipulates the industrial plant layout via a GUI input;
execute a constraint model to derive if a design constraint has
been infringed based on the industrial plant layout manipulation,
wherein the design constraint comprises a distance between a gas
turbine system component and a steam turbine system component; and
create an industrial plant design based on the industrial plant
layout and the geographic image.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic image comprises a
satellite image of a geographic area, and wherein the geographic
area comprise a future location for the industrial plant.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
manipulate the layout with respect to the geographic image by
providing for multiple users to log into a collaborative session to
jointly manipulate the layout and to jointly visualize the
manipulation.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
manipulate the layout with respect to the geographic image by
moving the industrial plant layout, a component of the plant
layout, or a combination thereof, with respect to the geographic
image.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the gas turbine system component
comprises an exhaust section of a gas turbine engine and wherein
the steam turbine system component comprises a heat recovery steam
generator component.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the design constraint comprises a
distance between two components of the industrial plant.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
execute an environmental model to derive an environmental factor
based on a location of the geographic image.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to
apply the environmental factor to derive a performance for the
industrial plant.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
execute a performance model, a plant component system model, a
regulatory model, or a combination thereof, to derive on or more
model factors, and to apply the model factors to create the
industrial plant design.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the industrial plant comprises a
power production plant having a turbine system configured to
provide power.
11. A method, comprising: displaying, via a processor, an
industrial plant layout on a display; overlaying, via the
processor, the industrial plant layout onto a geographic image;
receiving, via the processor, one or more inputs from a plurality
of remote users, wherein the one or more inputs comprise graphical
user interface (GUI) inputs; manipulating, via the processor, the
industrial plant layout with respect to the geographic image based
on the one or more inputs; showing the manipulation of the
industrial plant layout to the plurality of remote users as a user
of the plurality of remote users manipulates the industrial plant
layout via a GUI input; executing a constraint model to derive if a
design constraint has been infringed based on the industrial plant
layout manipulation, wherein the design constraint comprises a
distance between a gas turbine system component and a steam turbine
system component; and creating, via the processor, an industrial
plant design based on the industrial plant layout and the
geographic image.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the manipulating, via the
processor, the layout with respect to the geographic image
comprises providing, via the processor, for multiple users to log
into a collaborative session to jointly manipulate the layout and
to jointly visualize the manipulation.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein gas turbine system component
comprises an exhaust section of a gas turbine engine and wherein
the steam turbine system component comprises a heat recovery steam
generator component.
14. The method of claim 11, comprising, executing, via the
processor, environmental model to derive an environmental factor
based on a location of the geographic image, and applying the
environmental factor to derive a performance for the industrial
plant.
15. The method of claim 11, comprising, executing, via the
processor, a performance model, a plant component system model, a
regulatory model, or a combination thereof, to derive on or more
model factors, and to apply the model factors for creating the
industrial plant design.
16. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising
machine-readable instructions configured to: display an industrial
plant layout on a display; overlay the industrial plant layout onto
a geographic image; receive one or more inputs from a plurality of
remote users, wherein the one or more inputs comprise graphical
user interface (GUI) inputs; manipulate the industrial plant layout
with respect to the geographic image based on the one or more
inputs; show the manipulation of the industrial plant layout to the
plurality of remote users as a user of the plurality of remote
users manipulates the industrial plant layout via a GUI input;
execute a constraint model to derive if a design constraint has
been infringed based on the industrial plant layout manipulation,
wherein the design constraint comprises a distance between a gas
turbine system component and a steam turbine system component; and
create an industrial plant design based on the industrial plant
layout and the geographic image.
17. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim
16, wherein the instructions are configured to manipulate the
layout with respect to the geographic image by providing for
multiple users to log into a collaborative session to jointly
manipulate the layout and to jointly visualize the
manipulation.
18. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim
16, wherein the gas turbine system component comprises an exhaust
section of a gas turbine engine and wherein the steam turbine
system component comprises a heat recovery steam generator
component.
19. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim
16, wherein the instructions are configured to execute an
environmental model to derive an environmental factor based on a
location of the geographic image.
20. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim
16, wherein the instructions are configured to execute a
performance model, a plant component system model, a regulatory
model, or a combination thereof, to derive on or more model
factors, and to apply the model factors to create the industrial
plant design.
Description
BACKGROUND
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a system and method
for industrial plant design collaboration.
Certain design techniques may be used to create designs and/or
models for industrial plants, such as power production plants.
Industrial plants may include a wide variety of components spread
over a large area to achieve a particular purpose, such as power
generation, sewage treatment, hydrocarbon refinery, etc. It may be
beneficial to improve the efficiency and quality of industrial
plant designs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally
claimed subject matter are summarized below. These embodiments are
not intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter, but
rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief
summary of possible forms of the subject matter. Indeed, the
subject matter may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar
to or different from the embodiments set forth below.
In one embodiment, a system includes a collaborative design system
that includes a processor configured to display an industrial plant
layout on a display. The processor is also configured to overlay
the industrial plant layout onto a geographic image. Further, the
processor is configured to receive one or more inputs from a
plurality of remote users. In addition, the processor is configured
to manipulate the layout with respect to the geographic image based
on the one or more inputs. Moreover, the processor is configured to
create an industrial plant design based on the industrial plant
layout and the geographic image.
In another embodiment, a method includes displaying, via a
processor, an industrial plant layout on a display, and overlaying,
via the processor, the industrial plant layout onto a geographic
image. The method further includes receiving, via the processor,
one or more inputs from a plurality of remote users, and
manipulating, via the processor, the layout with respect to the
geographic image based on the one or more inputs. The method
additionally includes creating, via the processor, an industrial
plant design based on the industrial plant layout and the
geographic image.
In a further embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory,
machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions
configured to display an industrial plant layout on a display. The
instructions are also configured to overlay the industrial plant
layout onto a geographic image. Further, instructions are
configured to receive one or more inputs from a plurality of remote
users. In addition, the instructions are configured to manipulate
the layout with respect to the geographic image based on the one or
more inputs. Moreover, the instructions are configured to create an
industrial plant design based on the industrial plant layout and
the geographic image.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present
disclosure will become better understood when the following
detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout
the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a design and modeling
system;
FIG. 2 is block diagram of an embodiment, of an industrial plant
that may be conceived, designed, and/or engineered, by the design
and modeling system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a graphical user interface
(GUI) of the design and modeling system of FIG. 1 displaying an
industrial plant design overlaid onto a satellite image of a
physical location; and
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process for
the design and modeling system of FIG. 1 to automatically generate
industrial plant designs.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
One or more specific embodiments of the present subject matter will
be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description
of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may
not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated
that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in
any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific
decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals,
such as compliance with system-related and business-related
constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another.
Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort
might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a
routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for
those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present
subject matter, the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said" are
intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The
terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be
inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than
the listed elements.
The techniques described herein provide for designing industrial
plant systems by merging, for example, a variety of models to
better optimize the resulting design. For example, 2D and/or 3D CAD
models may be merged with models that include environmental
conditions (e.g., weather models, earthquake models,
geographic/geologic models, etc.), economic conditions and/or
predictions, performance models (e.g., performance of power
production system models, such as gas turbines, steam turbines,
hydroturbines, wind turbines, nuclear reactor, turboexpanders,
etc.), plant component models, regulatory models, design constraint
models, and so on, to arrive at an industrial plant design that may
be more efficient and cost effective as opposed to designs that do
not incorporate the techniques described herein. Further,
collaborative systems are described that improve the ability of
multiple designers, which may include designers from different
disciplines (e.g., engineering, economics, human factors,
government regulation experts, and so on), to simultaneously work
from remote locales around the world. By providing for
collaborative modeling and model merging of different model types,
the techniques described herein may result in improved design
efficiencies and a lower costs.
Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an
embodiment of a design and modeling system 10 that may be utilized
in industrial plant design collaboration. The design and modeling
system 10 includes a collaborative design system 12 that
facilitates the generation of designs for industrial plants (e.g.,
combined cycle gas turbine facility, wind farm, steam turbine
systems, hydroturbine systems, sewage processing plant, hydrocarbon
refinery facility, manufacturing plants, chemical plants, or any
combination thereof). For example, the collaborative design system
12 may enable one or more users 14 (e.g., modelers from different
disciplines, modelers located in different geographic areas) to
generate drawings of some or all of the components of an industrial
plant to create a design of an entire industrial plant.
For example, the collaborative design system 12 may be implemented
in hardware or in software, or a combination thereof. Accordingly,
the collaborative design system 12 may include one or more
executable programs stored in a memory 11 and executable by one or
more processors 13, such as microprocessors, that may operate in
conjunction with other executable programs (e.g., a computer aided
design programs), or the collaborative design system 12 may operate
as a stand-alone program and include various modeling systems, as
further described herein. Additionally, the collaborative design
system 12 may receive inputs from the multiple users 14, and/or
from multiple devices to improve collaboration. For example, the
collaborative design system 12 may be executed on a cloud device
(e.g., a cloud-based server) and communicate with remote devices 15
(e.g., smartphones, desktop computers, virtual reality systems,
augmented reality systems, servers, or any other computing device).
For example, the other devices 15 may include an executable program
(e.g., an application, a web-based browser, or any other system
that enable the use of an executable program) that enables the
users 14 to collaborate with each other via the collaborative
design system 12. Further, the collaborative design system 12 may
be manipulated by multiple users 14 simultaneously (e.g., in
real-time) in a single session of the collaborative design system
12, such that the users 14 may manipulate the same design in a
collaborative environment. For example, an input by one user 14 may
be seen by the other users 14 present in the same session of the
collaborative design system 12.
In the depicted embodiment, the collaborative design system 12 may
include environmental models 16, economic models 18, performance
models 20, a plant component or system models 22, a design
constraint models 24, previous designs models 26, and/or computer
aided design (CAD) models 27. Each of these models may be used as
inputs into the collaborative design system 12 and/or may have been
created via the collaborative design system 12. Further, each of
these models may be indicative of information suitable for merging
into a final plant design 28. For example, the environmental models
16 may be indicative of geographical data (e.g., including
geographic information system [GIS] data), including topology,
vegetation, soil, seismic activity, wind patterns, weather
patterns, temperature, humidity, existing structures, coordinates,
location relative to other points of interest (e.g., residential
area, industrial areas, transportation hubs, or any other point of
interest), location of utilities (e.g., power cables, municipal
sewage systems), roads, flooding zones, hurricane zones, tornado
zones, topographic maps, or any other environmental data. In
certain embodiments, the environmental data may be used, for
example, to additionally determine performance for the industrial
plant. For example, when the plant includes a power production
system, the models may be used to determine a performance (e.g.,
megawatts produced) based on altitude, ambient temperatures,
ambient pressures, humidity, and so on.
The economic models 18 may be indicative economic costs, accounting
costs, profit, return on investments, and so on, related to an
industrial plant. Further, costs may including fixed costs (e.g.,
costs of plant components, construction of the plant, employee
benefits, maintenance, depreciation, or any other fixed cost),
variable costs (e.g., price of consumable products, profit margin,
or any other variable cost), or any other cost related to the
construction and operation of an industrial plant. Profit may
include monetary profits as well as tax credits (e.g., green
credits), energy market futures, resellable credits, and so on. The
performance models 20 may include parameters related to the
production of the industrial plant, such as power output in
megawatts, efficiency measures (e.g., isentropic efficiencies,
adiabatic efficiencies), stoichiometric measures, fuel use,
environmental impact, or any other parameter relating to the
production of the industrial plant. The performance models 20 may
include performance at various international organization for
standardization (ISO) conditions or ratings, such as elevation,
relative humidity, ambient temperature, and so on.
The plant component or system models 22 may include a list of
components or systems that may be used in the industrial plant, as
well as certain information related to the component or systems,
including cost, capabilities, manufacturing information, ratings
(e.g., including ISO ratings), and so on. Components may include
conduits (e.g., electrical, piping), pumps, valves, sensors,
control systems, field devices (e.g., Fieldbus Foundation devices,
Hart devices), actuators, and so on. For example, a user 14 may use
the models 22 to add, remove, and/or change a component or system
of the plant during design of the plant.
Further, the design constraint models 24 may include one or more
constraints relating to the design of the industrial plant, such as
the maximum distance between an exhaust section of a gas turbine
and a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), the minimum distance
between two wind turbines, or any other design constraint relating
to the design of the industrial plant. For example, the design
constraint input 24 may include a table of the design constraints.
Further, if one of the users 14 makes a change in the collaborative
design system 12 that infringes one of the design constraint inputs
24, the collaborative design system 12 may display a message (e.g.,
error message) indicative of an infringement of one of the design
constraint inputs 24. Further, the collaborative design system 12
may also display a message indicative of which design constraint in
the models 24 has been infringed. Computer aided design (CAD)
models 27 may include information such as 2D/3D component/system
information, solid/surface modeling, parametric models, wireframe
models, vector models, non-uniform rational basis spline (NURBS)
models, geometric models, and the like, describing
components/systems of the plant, geometries and structures. The CAD
models 27 may also include geometric dimensions, tolerances, text
(e.g., annotations, notes), other dimensions, material type,
material specifications, finishes (e.g., surface finishes),
clearances, and so on, associated with the plant.
Regulatory models 29 may include lists of government regulations,
emissions models that simulate emissions for components/systems of
the plant (e.g., NOx emissions, CO.sub.2 emissions, particulate
counts, fluid emissions (e.g., wastewater), and so on). The
regulatory models 29 may also include costs for fines, time for
inspection/approval of plant designs at various jurisdictions,
inspection schedules, and the like.
Further, the previous design models 26 may include designs that
have been previously created. For example, the collaborative design
system 12 may include a machine learning process that enables the
collaborative design system 12 to "learn" from industrial plant
designs previously created. For example, preferred placement of
components/systems, routing of conduits, number of power production
systems (e.g., gas turbines, wind turbines, hydroturbines, steam
turbines, and so on), interconnection between systems, layouts,
compass orientations based on environmental models (e.g., based on
wind models, weather models), and/or based on any of the models 16,
18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29 described herein. To "learn", machine
learning models 31 may be created and used by the collaborative
design system 12. The machine learning models 31 may include expert
systems (e.g. forward chained expert systems, backward chained
expert systems), neural networks, fuzzy logic systems, state vector
machines (SVMs), inductive reasoning systems, Bayesian inference
systems, or a combination thereof.
The previous design input 26 may include one or more previous
industrial plant designs that performed well or as desired, and/or
the previous design input 26 may include one or more previous
industrial plant designs that include features to be avoided.
Further, the machine learning process (e.g., using the models 31)
may utilize the previous design input 26 in conjunction with the
design constraint input 24 to automatically create an industrial
plant design. The collaborative design system 12 may thus generate
an industrial plant design output 28, which is indicative of an
industrial plant design. Further, the industrial plant design
output 28 may be utilized as the previous design input 26 in later
sessions of the collaborative design system 12.
It may be beneficial to describe an industrial plant that could be
designed by the design and modeling system 10 of FIG. 1.
Accordingly, FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a power production
plant system 100 that may be entirely (or partially) conceived,
designed, and/or engineered by the design and modeling system 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the power production plant system 100
includes a gas turbine system 102, a monitoring and design and
modeling system 104, and a fuel supply system 106. The gas turbine
system 102 may include a compressor 108, combustion systems 110,
fuel nozzles 112, a gas turbine 114, and an exhaust section 118.
During operation, the gas turbine system 102 may pull air 120 into
the compressor 108, which may then compress the air 120 and move
the air 120 to the combustion system 110 (e.g., which may include a
number of combustors). In the combustion system 110, the fuel
nozzle 112 (or a number of fuel nozzles 112) may inject fuel that
mixes with the compressed air 120 to create, for example, an
air-fuel mixture.
The air-fuel mixture may combust in the combustion system 110 to
generate hot combustion gases, which flow downstream into the
turbine 114 to drive one or more turbine stages. For example, the
combustion gases may move through the turbine 114 to drive one or
more stages of turbine blades 144, which may in turn drive rotation
of a shaft 122. The shaft 122 may connect to a load 124, such as a
generator that uses the torque of the shaft 122 to produce
electricity. After passing through the turbine 114, the hot
combustion gases may vent as exhaust gases 126 into the environment
by way of the exhaust section 118. The exhaust gas 126 may include
gases such as carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2), carbon monoxide (CO),
nitrogen oxides (NO.sub.x), and so forth.
The exhaust gas 126 may include thermal energy, and the thermal
energy may be recovered by a heat recovery steam generation (HRSG)
system 128. In combined cycle systems, such as the power plant 100,
hot exhaust 126 may flow from the gas turbine 114 and pass to the
HRSG 128, where it may be used to generate high-pressure,
high-temperature steam. The steam produced by the HRSG 128 may then
be passed through a steam turbine engine for further power
generation. In addition, the produced steam may also be supplied to
any other processes where steam may be used, such as to a gasifier
used to combust the fuel to produce the untreated syngas. The gas
turbine engine generation cycle is often referred to as the
"topping cycle," whereas the steam turbine engine generation cycle
is often referred to as the "bottoming cycle." Combining these two
cycles may lead to greater efficiencies in both cycles. In
particular, exhaust heat from the topping cycle may be captured and
used to generate steam for use in the bottoming cycle.
In certain embodiments, the system 100 may also include a
controller 130. The controller 130 may be communicatively coupled
to a number of sensors 132, a human machine interface (HMI)
operator interface 134, and one or more actuators 136 suitable for
controlling components of the system 100. The actuators 136 may
include valves, switches, positioners, pumps, and the like,
suitable for controlling the various components of the system 100.
The controller 130 may receive data from the sensors 132, and may
be used to control the compressor 108, the combustors 110, the
turbine 114, the exhaust section 118, the load 124, the HRSG 128,
and so forth.
In certain embodiments, the HMI operator interface 134 may be
executable by one or more computer systems of the system 100. A
plant operator may interface with the industrial system 10 via the
HMI operator interface 44. Accordingly, the HMI operator interface
134 may include various input and output devices (e.g., mouse,
keyboard, monitor, touch screen, or other suitable input and/or
output device) such that the plant operator may provide commands
(e.g., control and/or operational commands) to the controller
130.
The controller 130 may include a processor(s) 140 (e.g., a
microprocessor(s)) that may execute software programs to perform
the disclosed techniques. Moreover, the processor 140 may include
multiple microprocessors, one or more "general-purpose"
microprocessors, one or more special-purpose microprocessors,
and/or one or more application specific integrated circuits
(ASICS), or some combination thereof. For example, the processor 39
may include one or more reduced instruction set (RISC) processors.
The controller 130 may include a memory device 142 that may store
information such as control software, look up tables, configuration
data, etc. The memory device 142 may include a tangible,
non-transitory, machine-readable medium, such as a volatile memory
(e.g., a random access memory (RAM)) and/or a nonvolatile memory
(e.g., a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard drive, or any
other suitable optical, magnetic, or solid-state storage medium, or
a combination thereof).
Further, as discussed above, the design and modeling system 10 may
include further data about the plant design shown in FIG. 2. For
example, the design and modeling system 10 may include the economic
features related to the design, the performance of the design,
and/or whether the design complies with the design constraints,
regulatory compliance, performance, CAD features, list of
components/systems (e.g., bill of material [BOM]), and so on.
Further, the design and modeling system 10 may include geographical
information relating to the location of each of the
components/systems.
Turning now to FIG. 3, the figure illustrates an embodiment of a
graphical user interface (GUI) 190 that may be included as part of
the design and modeling system 10. In the depicted embodiment, the
GUI 190 is shown as displaying an industrial plant design 200
overlaid onto a map 202 (e.g., satellite map) of a physical
location. In some embodiments, the industrial plant design 200 may
be overlaid onto any suitable image, including an image of wind
speeds, seismic activity, a topographical map, or any other image
indicative of geographic information.
Further, in the present embodiment, the design and modeling system
10 includes a box 204 shown in outline form indicative of the area
that may be manipulated, as opposed to map areas that may not be
manipulated. The size and shape of the box 204 may be changed to
any suitable size or shape. For example, if a user 14 is designing
a larger industrial plant, the user may increase the size of the
box 204 to enable manipulation over a larger area. Further,
included in the box 204 is a control panel 206, which includes
certain controls for manipulating the industrial plant design 200
via GUI techniques (e.g., touch gestures, mouse input, keyboard
input, voice input). For example, the control panel 206 may enable
adding or removing components, changing the location or orientation
of components, increasing or decreasing the size of components,
manipulating the view of the industrial plant design 200, opening a
settings tab, or any other suitable controls for manipulating the
industrial plant design 200.
Further, the design and modeling system 10 may include a control
panel 208 that enable the manipulation of the underlying satellite
image 202. For example, the control panel 208 may enable the
rotation, zooming in or out, changing the location displayed, or
any other suitable control for manipulating the underlying
satellite image 202. Further, in embodiments that include different
types of underlying images, different controls may be utilized in
the control panel 208.
In the present embodiment, the design and modeling system 10 also
includes a side control panel 210 that enables further manipulation
of the industrial plant design 200 and/or the underlying satellite
image 202. In the present embodiment, the side control panel 210
includes a general section 212, a navigation section 214, a
transform section 216, a new component section 218, a linkage
section 220, and an update section 222. The general section 212
includes a "Reset" option 224 that enables a user to clear the
industrial plant design 200 to the beginning of the session. The
general section 212 further includes a "Hide View" option 226 that
enables a user to hide the industrial plant design 200 or the
underlying satellite image 202 from view to increase the visibility
of certain features.
The navigation section 214 enables further manipulation of the
underlying satellite image 202. For example, a width option 228 and
a height option 230 enable a user to select a width and height of
the underlying satellite image 202. Further, the longitude option
232 and the latitude option 234 enable the user to select the
longitude and latitude of the center of the satellite image 202.
For example, after a user has input selections into the width
option 228, the height option 230, the longitude option 232, and/or
the latitude option 234, the user may select a "GEO Location"
option 236. Upon selecting the "GEO Location" option 236, the
underlying satellite image 202 may change to correspond to the size
and location selected by the user. In some embodiments, an address
may be utilized instead of a coordinate location. For example, the
navigation section 214 includes an address option 238 in which a
user may input an address. After inputting an address, the user may
select a "GEO address" option 240, which may cause the underlying
satellite image 202 to be centered on the specified address in the
address option 238.
The transform section 216 may enable manipulation of one or more
components of the industrial plant displayed in the industrial
plant design 200. For example, the transform section 216 includes a
part list 242, and each part in the part list 242 includes a
corresponding selectable option 244. In the present embodiment, the
selectable option 244 corresponding to Component 1 has been
selected, which enable further manipulation of the Component 1. For
example, a user may enter a numerical value into a translation
option 246, and may select the translation direction by selecting
one of a direction of translation options 248, which correspond to
positive and negative direction along the x and y axes. In the
present embodiment, a user has entered 0.1 as the input in the
translation option 246, which may correspond to any unit of
distance, including a meter, kilometer, foot, yard, mile, or any
other unit of distance. Further, the unit of distance may be
changed from one unit of distance to any other unit of distance. In
the present embodiment, the underlying satellite image 202 is
two-dimensional. In some embodiments, the underlying image may
include more or less dimensions, including 1, 3, 4, or more.
Embodiments that include a different number of dimensions may
include additional translation options to translate the components
in the other dimensions.
Further, the transform section includes a rotation option 250 and
direction of rotation options 252. For example, a user may enter a
numerical value into the rotation option 250, and may select the
rotation direction by selecting one of the direction of rotation
options 248, which correspond to clockwise and counterclockwise
directions with respect to an axis coming out of the page. In the
present embodiment, a user has entered 0.1 as the input in the
rotation option 246, which may correspond to any unit of rotation,
including a degree, radian, or any other unit of rotation. Further,
the unit of rotation may be changed from one unit of rotation to
any other unit of rotation. In the present embodiment, the
underlying satellite image 202 is two-dimensional. In some
embodiments, the underlying image may include three dimensions, and
the direction of rotation options 248 may include the third
dimension.
The new component section 218 includes an add option 254 that
enables a user to add a new component to the industrial plant
design 200. For example, when a user selects the add option 254, a
dialogue box may appear that may display a file directory of
selectable components. The user may navigate the dialogue box to
select a component. After selecting a component, the selected
component may appear in the industrial plant design 200, where the
selected component may be manipulated.
The linkage section 220 includes a selectable show option 256. When
the selectable show option 256 is selected, the linkages between
each component may be displayed on the industrial plant design 200.
The update section 222 enables a user to update the session of the
design and modeling system 10 for any other users participating in
the session. For example, if a user has made one or more changes,
the user may enable other users in the session to view those
changes by utilizing the update section 222.
Just as the map 202 may be used as an overlay, other maps,
including dynamic maps, may be used. For example, weather "maps"
showing wind conditions (e.g., historical and/or current wind
direction, speed, and so on), rain conditions, flood-prone areas
(e.g., FEMA maps), earthquake maps, and so on. Indeed, the GUI 190
may be used to show topology, vegetation, soil, seismic activity,
wind patterns, weather patterns, temperature, humidity, existing
structures, coordinates, location relative to other points of
interest (e.g., residential area, industrial areas, transportation
hubs, or any other point of interest), location of utilities (e.g.,
power cables, municipal sewage systems), roads, flooding zones,
hurricane zones, tornado zones, topographic maps, and the like.
The series of 2D drawings and 3D models CAD models 27 may be
created and then loaded onto the GUI 190 based on the results from
product configuration which may consider optimization of
performance, economics, regulatory compliance, environmental
factors, and so on, via models 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29. The
collaborative design system 12 may provide a configuration function
to enable a user to enter certain configuration information based
on specifications, which may be entered by the users 14. For
example, specifications may include power production in megawatts,
reliability measures, type of fuel to use, environmental conditions
to be encountered during operations (e.g., ambient temperature,
pressures, elevation). The collaborative design system 12 may then
execute the GUI 190 to display a 2D drawing or 3D CAD model 207
corresponding to the selected configuration overlaid onto a map
view. Any collaborator or user 14 can choose a location on the map
to place the plant model online, including translation and rotation
of the plant.
The boundary of the plant location can be defined on the map per
GPS coordinates or per plot drawing overlaying on the map 202. The
user 14 can then drag/change the location of the equipment inside
the plant through translation, rotation or scaling. These operation
would be regulated by the design constraints/rules 24. If any rule
was infringed during the movement, the collaborative design system
12 will provide a warning and would stop a user 14 from doing so.
These constraint rules 24 may be managed by a super user role
included in the collaborative design system 12, and may be entered
through batch uploading or dynamic adjustment to the rules using a
user interface. The rules' approval may be done through workflows
managed by the collaborative design system 12, which may include
engineering review workflows.
In certain embodiments. after the plant layout is placed at a
desired location, the geo-coordinates and map would be associated
and saved into 2D and 3D CAD models 27, that include plant
systems/components and the various maps. Both 2D and 3D CAD models
27 may be updated automatically per the layout changes on the map
202 via the GUI 190, which may occur on line. The collaborative
design system 12 allows user to measure the distance and area of
the plant and/or maps online. The collaborative design system 12
may also provide a delta difference on equipment quantity/balance
of plant between the final layout and the initial reference layout.
The change of the layout may be saved by the collaborative design
system 12, and allow users 14 to view or edit changes at a later
time. Multiple layout options may be saved for scenario analysis as
described in further detail below. Standard configuration layers
may be toggled on and off to enable the quick configuration
choices. The collaborative design system 12 may use machine
learning/artificial intelligence, for example via models 31, to
automatically optimize the plant layout and performance to improve
optimization of the entire process of configuring, costing,
performance and layout of a power plant 12. The collaborative
design system 12 may directly print out 3D prototype models (e.g.,
via 3D printers) and provide 3D immersive visualization (e.g., via
VR/AR) for users 14 to visualize and collaborate on the plant
design 28.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process 298
for the collaborative design system 12 to automatically generate or
to aid in the generation of industrial plant designs, such as
designs 28. Although the following process 298 describes a number
of operations that may be performed, it should be noted that the
process 298 may be performed in a variety of suitable manners,
using some or all of the operations of the process 298.
The collaborative design system 12 may receive or retrieve (block
300) previous designs 28 and/or models 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27,
29. As discussed above, the previous designs may include designs
indicative of desirable design features, and/or the previous
designs may include undesirable design features that should not be
included in future designs.
Then, the collaborative design system 12 may create (block 302) a
preliminary template design based on the received designs and/or
models 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29. In some embodiments, the
preliminary template design may be the same as, or a combination of
the received designs. Further, the preliminary template design may
be utilized by a user as a starting point in creating an industrial
plant design.
Next, the collaborative design system 12 may evaluate (block 304)
the preliminary template design. The evaluation may be based on a
number of factors, including cost, performance, environmental
impact, or any other suitable factor in evaluating an industrial
plant design. Further, the evaluation may give more weight to
certain factors over other factors. Further, the control system may
receive a scenario input 308 when evaluating the preliminary
template design. The scenario input 308 may relate to any possibly
scenario, including a price increase in consumable products, a
weather event (e.g., tornado, hurricane, or other event), or any
other scenario. Then, the control system may account for the
scenario in the scenario input 308 when evaluating (block 304) the
preliminary template design.
Then, the collaborative design system 12 may improve or otherwise
optimize (block 306) the preliminary template design based on the
evaluation. For example, after evaluating (block 304) the
preliminary template design, the collaborative design system 12 may
determine that certain factors of the preliminary template design
may be improved. For example, the collaborative design system 12
may determine that making a change in the preliminary template
design may decrease the cost without negatively affecting other
factors. Further, when improving the design, the collaborative
design system 12 may make changes that conform to the input design
constraints 24. Further, the improved design may be evaluated
(block 304) again in light of the scenario input 308. The process
of evaluating (block 304) and improving (block 306) may be repeated
until the collaborative design system 12 determines that any
further changes would not further improve the design.
Then, after improving (block 306) the design, the collaborative
design system 12 may produce (block 310) an industrial plant
design, such as the design 28. The produced industrial plant design
may be output to the users 14, which may enable the users 14 to
review the produced industrial plant design for any issues which
may have been overlooked by the collaborative design system 12.
This written description uses examples to disclose the subject
matter, including the best mode, and also to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the subject matter, including making
and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated
methods. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by
the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those
skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within
the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do
not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they
include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial
differences from the literal languages of the claims.
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